Got my 5100's on yesterday and aligned today.
Ouch on the Caster. What setting, 2.5"? I'm hoping to get more caster at 2.5"
Another Bilstein 5100 question
- Thread starter ATLQuicksilver
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Ouch on the Caster. What setting, 2.5"? I'm hoping to get more caster at 2.5"
toku58
New member
No CASTER is adjustable, But when they try to adjust it, it will affect the Camber.
You'll need a set of UCA's.
My Caster with the UCA's is set at 3.9, and my Camber is at .1 With 2.5" lift in the front and 1.5" in the rear.
What does caster effect?
toku58
New member
Well a simple way to explain it would be:
When you go to the supermarket and get a bum cart that the front wheel wobbles back and forth as you go down the isle, the faster you go the more it wobbles.
Having higher Caster would prevent that from happening.
http://www.carparts.com/alignment.htm
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Adi979
New member
Thanks for the response. At this point I'm leaning towards Billy's at .85 and just leaving the rear alone. I'm a bit sceptical about messing with a new truck. I had a 2010 Tacoma I lifted with toytec spacers and hated the ride. After 3 months I took em out and put a OME coils and shocks and icon progressive AAl's in the back and it was butter smooth. Waisted $$$ on spacers and install and then removal and re install of OME suspension. So pay once and do it right I guess.
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coltjester
New member
For sure, I initially went 2.5" up front with a Toytec spacer and while it looked good, it rode like shit. Later swapped it for the 5100 set at 1.75" and the improvement was night and day. I wanted to do the same as you're thinking with our 2017 and stay stock rear and go .85 up front but the wife "wants it to sit just like the old one", so, 1.75' up front it is.
EburgRunner
New member
Caster won't cause wheel wobble. The cart analogy is a bit misconstrued. Wheel wobble is caused by a bent frame that puts the entire wheel completely out of alignment and unweights one of the steering wheels. Since the wheels are not connected with a steering rod, the unweighted tire will wobble.
Caster is just the rake of the wheel. The higher the number, the more out in front it is. The more out in front it is, the smoother the steering is. When the caster angle is closer to 0, it causes the steering input to create a greater change in steering angle of the tire. When people are first getting used to the more abrupt steering, it can feel like the vehicle is wandering until they get used to it. A better analogy for single wheel caster is bike fork angle. The slacker the angle, the smoother it is, but it won't turn as sharply, which is why downhill bikes are built that way. The steeper the rake, the more maneuverable the bike is, which is why cross country bikes are built that way.
If you have mismatched caster angles, the vehicle will pull to whatever side has the lower angle, which effectively means that one wheel is in front of the other and the vehicle is constantly in a turn.
The factory spec for the caster is a medium between smoothness and aggressiveness. If you don't mind more aggressive steering, you absolutely do not need new UCAs. If you want to maintain as close to a car like highway smoothness as possible, then you should probably get them.
toku58
New member
I NEVER Said Caster Causes wheel wobble. :der:
If you don't have much caster then any bump in the road would cause your steering to wander. any tire balance issue could cause it to wobble.
I agree that the bike analogy is correct.
CASTER is why a motorcycle can keep going in a straight line when you let the handle bars go.
CASTER helps with stability of the vehicle to maintain it's direction.
Has absolutely NOTHING to do with "Agressive steering" Low caster will make it easier to turn the wheels to change direction.
Higher caster would make the vehicle maintain it's direction and require abit more effort to turn the wheel.
EburgRunner
New member
Since you used the wheel wobble analogy to describe caster, it stands to reason that you did say that.
Caster is not why a motorcycle can keep going in a straight line when you let the handlebars go, that is due to rotational inertia and momentum.
Soaking up the bumps is based on shock angle, not caster. It just happens that on bikes, they are close to one and the same. The caster is generally a little less steep than shock angle due to the dropouts being pushed out slightly in front of the fork.
Caster does not help with the ability for the vehicle to not wander, the forward facing shocks and toe in is what helps with that.
The aggressive steering comment is correct. The further in front of the steering pivot the wheel is, the more steering input is required to create the same turning arc. The further back it is, the less steering input is required to create the same turning arc. That's why carts can turn on a dime, because the steering input (rear wheels) is several feet behind the steering pivot (front wheels).
toku58
New member
It's amazing how idiotic people will interpret what they read to the most wrongest way possible?
I'm not wasting my time to explain the difference to you. I see you think you have it all figured out!
Good luck with your truck!
EburgRunner
New member
Thanks, I will!
Have fun not understanding physics and being rude to strangers on the internet!
Sent from my XT1585 using Tapatalk
Adi979
New member
Lucky you "wife wants it". Mine is against me doing anything to it although it's my daily driver. I think she was angry that I spent all that money on the Tacoma including wheels, tires, lift, and plenty other mods and then traded it in. I see a lot of guys here going 1.75 and 1" cornfed I'm just worried about losing downtravel on the front shocks by going that high.
Is cornfed the only reputable place to get the 1" rear spacer? I think I finally decided on the 1.75/1" lift; but $90 for spacers seem steep... $35 for the Daystar 1.5" seems a lot more reasonable. The only thing steering me away from the 2.5/1.5 is the possibility of not getting a good alignment. UCAs aren't in the budget now.
cdiset
New member
To those worried about the ride, I have a 2017 TRD off road with KDSS, that was fantastic stock. The KDSS really is special. I just installed 5100s all around, 1.75 with stock front coils, and Wheeler T13 rear coils. Its now even better on the road, not hard at all. And off road? Better than I imagined. Makes me wonder how good it woud be with a real off road suspension. But then again, I am 47 and built for comfort.
ZeroT4R
New member
I'm still on 5100 front and rear. Setting was 2.5fronts on stock springs and 1.5 on daystar spacers with stock rear spring. Never had problem and alignment with no issues. Better ride quality less noise dive. More flex on trails
Now I upgraded to toytec 3" lift kit. On the the same 5100 front and rear, with 3" toytec spring and 1/2" spacers. And superflex 2" rear springs. And again no issues at all. I upgraded due to 120lb steel bumper and RCI steel skid plate. The toytec 3" lift kit supported the weigh down. Same flex. More flex in the rear.
Tho I was told if i did the boss kit from toytec, I would have to do upgraded UCAs.
How it's sits:
Now I upgraded to toytec 3" lift kit. On the the same 5100 front and rear, with 3" toytec spring and 1/2" spacers. And superflex 2" rear springs. And again no issues at all. I upgraded due to 120lb steel bumper and RCI steel skid plate. The toytec 3" lift kit supported the weigh down. Same flex. More flex in the rear.
Tho I was told if i did the boss kit from toytec, I would have to do upgraded UCAs.
How it's sits:
TotalAutomotiveLV
New member
GearJunkie88
New member
[MENTION=156902]cdiset[/MENTION] - I think I'm going to do exactly this setup. What wheels/tires are you running? Any extra weight like skids or sliders? Can you post a picture?
